


There's just one more thing,

by birbteef



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Eggs, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Secret Relationship, Swearing, Unplanned Pregnancy, Vomiting, secret
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2019-11-03 21:02:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17885159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birbteef/pseuds/birbteef
Summary: "as soon as Soundwave plugs into the data cam in my quarters then I'll be found out. Plus how would we hide sparklings? It's a good idea, good effort, but that's not going to work.” Knock Out was vehement.Breakdown wiped his face down. “Then just act like nothings wrong.”“Excuse me? Repeat that thought again and see if it makes sense.”Breakdown shook his head, “No I mean it. If you just go about your business then...what is he gonna do? Really?********KOBD secret pregnancy/secret relationship au to fulfill my own needs





	1. A surprise

**Author's Note:**

> Seeecreeet loooooversssss

Knock out woke the morning after his heat with an ache in him that he would savor for days. Breakdown had treated him to a lovely and thorough dicking. In the hazy moments of early morning he felt that big arm still wrapped around him and purred into it. How lucky was he? 

It may have been a little suspicious that they both took an emergency day off but he could only hope nobody would bring it up. Megatron likely wouldn't care but Starscream was too nosy for his own good. 

Breakdown’s arm curled around him in his sleep as his alarm grew near. 

It had been a while since they were able to spend a night together. Knock out missed this intimacy so badly. To wake up sore and in love was a wonderful thing that living on the Nemesis denied them. They weren't keeping themselves a secret so much as they knew it would just be better if the other officers didn't know. It wasn't against the rules or anything, but opening up a visible weakness wasn't a smart move. 

“You doin any better?” Breakdowns sleepy voice finally cut through the comfortable silence. 

Knock Out purred in response, giving him a needed nuzzle “Much. Thanks to you~.”

Breakdown just grinned at him for a moment, his thumb stroking up and down gently on knock outs pauldron. “just doin my part.” He gave a small exhale, “I gotta get up soon. Are you gonna be alright?”

Knock out paused to think. It had been a while for both of them but other than the ache he felt alright. The heat hadn't burned any sensors and as of now nothing was too wrong. “I'll just take it slow today. Provided megatron doesn't send me anywhere of course.” 

Breakdown gave him a little nod before pulling his arm out to stretch long and hard as knock out ogled his frame. He gave Knock Out a kiss before finally swinging his legs over the side of the bed to start the day. Breakdown’s shift started hours before Knock Out's did. Really, Knock Out knew he could probably spend all morning in bed and just write up some reports later and say he was working. 

He'd have to sneak out of Breakdown’s room at some point though. 

By the time Breakdown left for his shift Knock Out was thinking the ache in his valve might be more of an issue than he previously thought. He'd been pounded by Breakdown’s dick before but this was the first time he'd really felt bruised by the damn thing. Had it really been that long for them? There was a time in Knock Out's life he could remember shoving all sorts of stuff up there without issues. Maybe he'd tightened up since his racing days.

The pain that shot through him at his attempt to get off the berth had him gasping. He felt like his tank was going to fall out; which as a doctor he knew was ridiculous, but as a sex haver felt like a realistic possibility.

He hobbled his way to the medbay after making sure no one saw him leave the room. He'd take a quick acting pain suppression supplement in his energon and hope it went away. It tasted bitter and wouldn't have any effect for a couple of minutes but that was fine. 

It sort of went away. There was a lingering feeling of something swollen but the pain of it definitely did recede as the day went on. He was lucky nothing serious arose in his medbay, just a few vehicons with some minor injuries and Starscream briefly stopping by for the day's gossip. 

By the time Knock Out got back to his own berth he'd mostly forgotten about the ache, thinking instead of Breakdown and how much he wished they could reprieve last night's adventure. He shot off a quick ::miss you:: to him as he locked the medbay for the evening.

In return he was sent a string of human emojis dictating several eggplants and water drops with a few crude tongues thrown in the mix. Given who he was comming he felt he shouldn't have been surprised but he still frowned at it. 

::Nevermind:: he sent back with a joking modifier. ::still feeling sore. Your dick hurt me big boy:: then after several data strings of deliberation an emoji of the purple vegetable.

::u wanna me cum over there n rub it out?:: Gross. No, knock out thought he was fine without that. 

Knock out formulated his response carefully, wanting him to know there were no hard feelings about it ::I am going to bed. Rub yourself out for me.::

All he received in return was a weirdly blurry picture of Breakdown with his dick in hand. Knock out was not charmed. How Breakdown could be so wonderful and caring in person and the absolute worst commer he'd ever interact with still managed to dumbfound him. He was lucky Knock Out loved him.

As he sat on his own berth a jolt of pain shot through him from his valve. It had him gasping and hunched over, falling to a kneel on the floor.

Once the electric pain had died down he slowly undid his panels, pushing his fingers around his outer valve lips. Nothing on the outside. He swallowed hard and dipped a finger in, feeling about for what he knew was supposed to be there. He pressed against his calipers one by one, working his way deeper to find what the problem was. Not the calipers.

He started to panic, realizing he knew what the problem was. He reached up deep inside to the ceiling node with it's little gestational opening. The light touch of his fingers almost made him scream with how much it hurt. He pulled his hand away and gasped for air to his ventilation. He'd have to go through all his process trees from last night and manually find the one to close it. It shouldn't hurt like this but if it was stuck cycled open, pain was a side effect. 

He dug through his compiler for what felt like an hour, looking at the individual codes and processes. Eventually he found it and read the error report. Ah, yeah, blunt force trauma. Good job on that big dick Breakdown. He ran the program to cycle down the opening and was thrown to the floor again as the pain erupted from him. 

And then, just as it had come on, it was over. His gestational opening was closed and he was left on the floor gasping to not cry. Primus, he'd been shot before and it didn't hurt as much as that did. 

He went back to his berth and laid down, glad if nothing else that he didn't have to call someone to help him. If he had his way no one else on the nemesis would ever know what happened tonight.

-o-0-o-

The thought of his tank pain had drifted to the back of his mind. Three weeks later he immediately regurgitated the previous night's energon when he woke up. 

His first thought was that he'd been poisoned as he clutched his waste chute to vomit again. His second thought was that he'd contracted a virus. His base temperature was a little higher than normal and he felt oddly stiff. To be fair, he'd felt stiff for a few days but if he was coming down with something it would make sense. 

He pulled himself away from the waste chute after he was sure he was done throwing up for the moment. He went about the rest of his morning routine fairly normally. The nausea had died down enough that the little event was pushed to the back of his processor. He was ready for work quickly and was pleased to find he was only a few minutes late. Pretty good for having spent most of the morning puking. 

He ran a quick virus test on himself on the medbay computer and wasn't too surprised it came up negative. Maybe it was something that just wasn't in his database yet. The list of diseases was getting old, and without access to autobot Intel it wouldn't get updated for a while. He shrugged it off as not too unusual and just gave himself another dissolved painkiller. 

-o-0-o-

The next morning had the routine repeat almost exactly. Puke twice, feel sore, get up.

Today he'd be able to share his lunch break with Breakdown. He made sure to get everything done as fast as possible so as not to miss it. They rarely got to spend any time together anymore. 

They got their cubes and picked an isolated table away from any vehicons. Knock out finally relaxed, “it's good to see you.”

“You too.” Breakdown took a drink of his cube. “Whatcha been up to in the medbay?”

“Oh” knock out looked down at his own drink with disdain, afraid he'd puke more if he drank it, “busy work. I get the vehicons from your mining excursions.”

“We've been having a lot of accidents lately. I don't know why.” Breakdown seemed to have no reservations about his own meal. “I wish I could be up in the medbay with you though. I'm a better nurse than a mining commander.”

Knock out just nodded, finally taking a sip. The energon seemed... lackluster. It wasn't what he wanted. “I miss having you around. Moreso than I miss a nurse.”

Breakdown gave him a sad little smile, “this won't be forever. I'll be back to keeping you company soon. Megatrons ship operated without a doctor for a long time, so I'm sure he'll fire you at some point.” He laughed.

Knock out didn't find it nearly as funny, though he knew Breakdown was right. What he did find however was that he wanted Breakdown’s drink. Logically, he knew they were the same. But Breakdown’s looked better. his eyes flicked from his own to Breakdown's, back and forth. That was ridiculous. “Can I have that?” He finally asked, pointing to the cube. 

“What?” Breakdown responded as if that was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. 

“I'll give you mine if I can have that. Trade. Mines full anyway so you get more.”

“...okay?” Breakdown switched them and drank from Knock Out's cube. “They're the same thing though.” 

“I know.” Knock out took Breakdown's cube and gulped it down as if it was the best thing he'd ever ate in his life. “I know they're the same thing. I just wanted this one.”

Breakdown stared at him. “You...doin okay?” 

“I'm fine.” 

“You sure?”

Knock out was charmed Breakdown cared enough to ask. “I mean...I've been purging so I think my taste receptors probably rebooted. Maybe. So food just seems kinda weird now.”

Breakdown seemed to accept that answer. “Heh, you gotta lay off that high grade. You're too old to be drinking that much.”

Knock out would have been offended if the thought of high grade didn't make his stomach churn. No, he absolutely did not want any of that. He made no effort to quell Breakdown's theory though, whether it was from a virus or high grade consumption it didn't matter. It would go away soon enough. “I suppose but It doesn't matter though.” he lied.

“As long as you're good. I have the rest of the day off, do you wanna get up to something?” Breakdown finished the newly traded drink. 

Knock out thought about it. “I...dunno. I've been feeling rather off-color recently. I'm not really wanting to run around at the moment.” 

“so you're sick then?”

Knock out shrugged. “I guess so. Nothing came up in the database for it so it's likely just a little virus.”

“Well...I'd still like to do something. I can come over and we can watch a holovid.”

That did sound nice. “Let me finish my paperwork and I'll let you know when to arrive.” Knock out finished the stolen drink.

-o-0-o-

There was more paperwork than Knock Out realized. By the time he got to his habsuite Breakdown was already there, sleeping on the small sofa he had. Knock Out sighed, wishing he'd gotten off earlier. He patted him on the leg to wake him up. “You could have gone to the bed you know.”

Breakdown looked around like he didn't understand where he was for a second before flashing Knock Out a smile. “Yeah, but then I'd miss you coming in.”

“You did miss me coming in-” he patted his leg again, “-move over.”

Breakdown shuffled around on the couch and pulled Knock Out down into his lap. Knock out was taken aback by how good he smelled. He wanted to stay like this forever and snuggled close. Breakdown laughed, “what do you wanna watch cuddle-bug?”

“Something gross. The humans have okay horror movies.”

Breakdown thought about that for a moment. What the hell did 'gross’ mean in this context? He flicked the holoscreen on and set it to play a fuzzy old human slasher. 

Knock out had seen this one, but it was good and Gorey and the little humans were entertaining so it was fine. He sighed and shoved his face into Breakdown's arm, just content to exist with him in this moment. 

Breakdown's hand rubbed against his back in a soothing motion that easily pulled him off to sleep. By the time the film was over it was Breakdown who was rousing Knock Out. “Must have been a long day, huh?”

Knock out just groaned, more sore now than he'd been that morning. “I feel like shit. I'm sorry I- eugh oh no.” He got up and bolted to the waste room to purge again. 

Breakdown followed tentatively behind him, placing a gentle hand on his back. “Some virus huh?”

“I'm fine!” Knock out replied, anger welling up in him from this stupid situation. “I just need to rest, I'm fine.” He got up shakily and wiped his mouth. 

“Take it easy, hey.” Breakdown put a hand on his front and all but guided him to the berth. “I'm putting in a time off request for you tomorrow. It'll look more valid if it comes from your nurse.” 

Knock out nodded and collapsed into the bed. Whatever the hell this was, he needed it to stop. 

Breakdown sat on the other side and started to rub his back. Somehow it felt exactly like what knock out needed. Those big hands were able to melt away the soreness and by the time Breakdown moved to another spot he felt like it had never ached at all. “What'd I do to deserve a guy like you?” He finally asked.

“Heh, funny. Most people think it's the other way around.”

“Then they're fools who can't see you're wonderful.”

Knock out could feel the happiness bloom in Breakdown's field. He knew he was right though, no one else was here rubbing his back after he purged, just Breakdown. 

-o-0-o-

Knock out woke gently with no alarm. Breakdown was gone but a message in his comms let him know he had the day off, and Breakdown was taking his place in the medbay for the day. 

He felt the nausea start up and he groaned. This isn't how he wanted to spend his day. He couldn't remember how last night had ended, obviously Breakdown had rubbed his back till he fell asleep but he'd have to ask him later what time he had left. 

He made his way to the waste room and slumped down in front of it, waiting for the purge to come. He let it happen when it did, surrendering to the fact this would be his life for the time being. 

He felt gross. He wanted a shower but pulling himself from the floor felt like a herculean task. He pressed his hands to the rim of the chute and pushed himself up, wobbling back for a second before righting himself. 

The hot shower felt wonderful on his sore joints. He spent a long time just standing under the stream before actually starting to wash himself. Starting from the top down like normal he paused once he hit his middle. Something seemed...off. He looked the same but when he ran his hands over the small parts of exposed protoflesh they felt soft and sensitive. He poked at it, amazed how it actually seemed to slide around underneath his armor. 

Then, in his amazement of poking at his tummy in the shower, he came upon the immediate realization what was happening to himself. He was getting fat. He felt like screaming, he'd never been fat a day in his life. And now, on top of being sick, he was putting on pounds as well. 

He threw his soap on the floor in frustration and smacked the shower nozzle to turn it off. How did this happen to him? How did he get to this point? He feverishly went through his backlog of how much he'd been eating and what exercise he'd been getting. Nothing seemed too different besides a general feeling of lethargy lately. 

Then that meant...oh. he sat down In front of the waste chute like he had earlier that morning. No change In diet, no change in exercise, a general feeling of acheyness and susceptibility to viruses. 

He was getting old. 

Old!

He felt like sobbing. 

He immediately opened a chat thread to breakdown, needing any kind of comfort he could get. ::I'm old!!! I'm dying because I'm fucking old!!! That's why I'm sick!!!!::

Breakdowns system read that he had opened the message but he wasn't typing anything back. 

::Breakdown message me!!!:: He fired off another comm. ::Breakdown I'm freaking out!::

He finally got a response of ::ur not old? Ur like a couple thousand or smthn?::

Knock out pouted at that. That was true, sure. ::But I've gotten fat! I haven't changed anything and now I'm fucking fat because I'm old!!::

Again it took breakdown a long time to respond. Knock out realized he was probably doing something but just as he was about to fire off another comm he received the little exhausted face emoji and, ::ur not fat::

::I felt it. You can feel it. My stomach is squishy.:: Knock out poked his stomach again, still feeling like he was going to start crying at any moment. 

::Cum 2 medbat:: Breakdown responded. ::*medbay::

Knock out wiped his face and headed out immediately. His trip through the nemesis felt hectic and he had to stop at one point to not break down into a panic attack. He composed himself and held his head high as he walked into the medbay, not sure at all what he was expecting. 

Breakdown was talking to a vehicon with a splint and temporary welds on one arm. He was going over some proper aftercare procedures, the one thing knock out readily admitted Breakdown was better than him at medical wise was patient relations. The vehicon seemed to be taking whatever happened fairly well. 

Knock Out bit his knuckle and—in a rare turn of events—had to wait his turn to see the doctor. Or nurse, in this case. When it was his turn he rushed back to Breakdown and before he could even open his mouth Breakdown held his hand out and told him to shush. 

Knock Out was not a mech who was used to being shushed, let alone by Breakdown, and as result he found himself actually slowing down.

“You think you're getting fat or old or..?” He finally asked, looking Knock Out's frame up and down with scrutiny. 

“I- well. Yes.” He grabbed hold of Breakdown's hand to press it against the small bits of protoflesh. “That's not firm!” 

Breakdown prodded him and rubbed the area gently, taking a more serious interest in it than Knock Out expected him to. “I need you to get on the table.”

“Wh- Breakdown why? I'm having a midlife crisis and you want to give me an exam?” he still got on the table anyway.

Breakdown was shuffling around with some of the supplies and brought a few scanners out. “Did you throw up again this morning?” He asked, setting up a monitor. 

“Yes, I have a virus, I've already diagnosed that. This is about me being old.”

Breakdown gave him a look that told him he was being ridiculous. “Knock out, if a patient came to you saying they were throwing up, sore, gaining weight, experiencing irrational emotions and especially just had a heat, what would you diagnose them with?”

Knock Out knew what Breakdown was getting at. He just looked down at his stomach then up to Breakdown, who was finalizing the settings on what Knock Out realized was a long unused spark pulse duplication monitor. 

How this hadn't even crossed his mind as a possibility he didn't know. He knew heats resulted in sparking, but he'd been so caught up in the pain of his gestational tank getting stuck that the realization it was open the whole fucking time never crossed his mind. 

Breakdown plugged in the machine and then gently tapped on Knock Out's chest plates. “Open up, hun.” Staying silent, Knock Out complied. 

Breakdown looked at his spark briefly. Knock Out's spark was always beautiful, no matter how many times he saw it. He attached the clamps to the underside of his spark casing and turned the machine on, looking at the wavelengths. 

He studied the screen while Knock Out waited terrified, not sure what he wanted. If he was carrying then he'd have to decide what to do with the children, if he even decided to have them. If he wasn't then he was still having a midlife crisis. But really, he already knew the truth.

Breakdowns field bloomed open with such a force of love and excitement it caught knock out entirely off guard. Of course he would love them. “How many?”

“There's four eggs, I can't tell how many are viable. Oh Knock Out look.” He turned the monitor around so he could see the large blip of his spark signature with four almost imperceptible blips just ahead of it. Sparklings. “Look at em.” 

Knock out stared at the screen, both amazed and terrified. What was next? What to do about this? It was unlikely all four were viable, cybertronians only have a 25% hatch rate which is why the Well was the preferred method of reproduction before the war. The thought of termination crossed Knock Out's mind but he knew he couldn't do that. 

It's something they had talked about briefly, getting a Bitlet from the Well and raising it together. But the Well was dry now and their relationship became less and less public. 

“Can we keep them?” Breakdown asked, now looking down to Knock Out's stomach. A hesitant hand came forth to press against the plating and swollen mesh. 

Knock Out placed his hand on Breakdown's. “Of course. Oh my God...of course. What are we gonna do about this though? What am I gonna do?” The fear of the situation started to slip in. “Megatrons gonna kill me. Or you for knocking me up. Or both of us for being so stupid.”

“Or...we don't tell him.” Breakdown replied.

“You can't hide a pregnancy, Breakdown. That's now how these things work. I'm going to show eventually.”

“We don't have to hide the pregnancy if we hide you.”

“...excuse me?”

Breakdown sat on the edge of the berth, thinking through whatever crazy idea he was coming up with. “You're out sick so...can't you stay sick till you lay?”

“Sure, yes.” He was following along. “And then as soon as Soundwave plugs into the data cam in my quarters then I'll be found out. Plus how would we hide sparklings? It's a good idea, good effort, but that's not going to work.”

Breakdown wiped his face down. “Then just act like nothings wrong.”

“Excuse me? Repeat that thought again and see if it makes sense.”

Breakdown shook his head, “No I mean it. If you just go about your business then...what is he gonna do? Really? You think he wants the title of baby killer or something? If we freak out he's gonna think we have a reason to be freaking out. If...uh, if we just go about it like it was a planned thing then, I dunno, maybe he will too.” 

Knock out nodded slowly. “And Starscream?”

“What about him?”

Knock out chewed on his knuckle, “he's too nosy for his own good. He may find out before even Soundwave.”

“Tell him.” Breakdown said excitedly. “He comes by every day for the gossip, right? Tell him. He'll spread the news all on his own and if you can spin it as good news...then it's good news!” 

Knock out nodded again, finally unclipping the machine from his chest. “I can do that. If he breaks the news to megatron it's more likely he'll shoot the messenger before he thinks it through. It's not...explicitly against the rules for us to be fucking; it's just...dangerous. everyone is gonna know we're not just doctor and assistant now, you realize that?”

Breakdown laughed and started to put the machinery away. “Maybe we'll start being able to spend some real time together then.”

“That...would be nice.” Knock out sat back on the berth, realizing just how exhausted he was. None of this was going to work.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A visitor comes by

Knock Out quickly decided that telling anybody about the pregnancy was a terrible idea; at least until he could figure out a better plan. He knew it was entirely possible nothing would actually come of it anyway. Viable eggs were a rare occurrence, especially from two forged bots. 

He slid down the wall of his suite across from the berth. What if one was viable though? They'd...have a sparkling. He'd never considered the possibility in any real capacity. Of course Breakdown would be a fantastic sire he had no doubts about that. But of himself? 

He felt a slight rise of heartburn and shoved his head between his knees. He didn't know how he'd manage this or the aftermath. He didn't know the first thing about raising a sparkling. Or, come to think of it, of carrying in general. Medics had their specific areas of training, and he'd gone Into plastic surgery. While it was adaptable enough to be used on a battlefield for wound repair, he'd never learned anything but the general everymech’s knowledge of carrying.

Hell, Breakdown probably knew more about it than he did. Breakdown hadn't been to school for nursing but Knock Out at one point had all the textbooks and learning holotapes that Breakdown learned off of. Where they were now he hadn't the faintest clue. Probably abandoned on some planet somewhere on a hideout they had to quickly escape for some reason or another. 

He got up and laid on the berth, these different thoughts all running through his head. Maybe he could find them on the black market. Though asking Swindle to find him an obstetrics textbook sounded like it could lead to more trouble than it was worth.

There was a sudden knock on his door and a ping from Starscream requesting entry. Starscream already had his head peeking inside and the door was flung open before he had a chance to respond. Coming in barely announced was not a new behavior by any means but it certainly one of the ones Knock Out found the most obnoxious. “I heard you were sick.” 

Knock Out simply turned his head to the side to leer at the jet who was now making himself comfortable on his favorite chair. “Surely.”

“Oh come now,” Starscream almost seemed to be examining him, his eyes scanning over every inch of the medical officer to see if he was faking. “Are you really sick? You can tell me.”

Knock Out almost wished for another bout of nausea right then and there so he'd have an excuse to ruin the jet's pedes. Starscream must really think he's stupid if he was just going to admit what was wrong. Except...he couldn't. There was absolutely no way Knock Out was going to tell him the truth, so he had to tell him what he wanted to hear. “I...just drank too much. You know how it is, I've got a killer headache, I'm nauseous, everything hurts. You've been there.”

“Maybe.” Starscream lied as he crossed one swooping leg over the other and got comfy in the seat. Knock Out had personally treated him for energex overintoxication more than once so he really wasn't sure what he was getting at. “But not when i've got work the next day.”

“Commander, with all due respect, this is the first time I've forgotten.” Knock out was starting to worry he was digging himself into a hole. “It's not something I plan to make a habit of, I assure you.” 

Starscream simply hummed and looked at his nails. “Good. I'd hate to send you to the mines with that assistant of yours. For what little good you are at least you know how a foil is supposed to be applied.”

Knock out grit his teeth and turned his head so his face was directly smooshed against the berth. If he had to listen to this nonsense at least he didn't have to watch it. “Is that all you wanted commander Starscream?” He mumbled into the sheets. 

“No, I was wondering what you're doing for the rest of the day? I need some...assistance.”

Knock out frowned into his berth. What the hell did that mean? “What?” He turned his face slightly to the side so he could glare one eye up at the room intruder. 

“Does this look infected?” Starscream stood up and pulled aside a panel at his hip to reveal what we're clearly scratch marks from a rough interface session. 

Knock out would have acted more surprised if starscream didn't do something like this every other week or so. “I'm off duty why don't you talk to Breakdown?” 

“I don't want to talk to Breakdown!” Starscream whined. “His hands are too big and I don't want him knowing about this.”

Starscreams voice was starting to make his nausea worse. At what point did the nausea go away? Was it a week? Three weeks? He'd have to ask Breakdown. “He's perfectly fine and professional at his job, he's my nurse for a reason you know. But no, they don't look infected.” He waved his hand in a gesture so starscream would come closer. He gently touched the area around the scratches then shook his head. “They're just swollen. Ugh-” more heartburn trying to ruin his life made itself apparent. 

“What 'ugh’?” Starscream asked, clearly thinking it had to do with him. 

Knock Out shook his head and sat up slowly. Puking right now was the absolute worst thing that could happen. It was called morning sickness shouldn't that mean it was in the morning? Or was that just a ruse? “Nothing i- nothing. Nothing. Give me a moment.” He slid off the bed and quickly ran to the waste room, unsure what was going to happen. 

Of course Starscream would follow him. And of course he wouldn't puke as soon as he crouched over the bowl. The nausea just came in wave after wave of roiling discomfort. Somewhere he realized starscream was talking, describing a hangover he had once. Knock Out couldn't even focus on the words it was just a sandpaper directly to his brain. 

When he finally did barf it was only mildly relieving. Starscream patted him on the back and was making some sort of cooing noise in a mocking gesture of support. God he wished that jet wasn't here. 

“What a hangover huh?” Starscream sounded practically jovial. “Maybe it is a good thing you called off, I'll be sure to pass news of your condition to Lord megatron~” 

Knock out quickly shook his head, “No! No, you don’t need to tell anyone about this.”

Starscream smirked as if this was the funnest thing he'd ever done. Though for as much as Knock Out knew he liked screwing people over he probably was having a good time. The jet just pursed his lips in a fake pout, “then it's our little secret.” He tapped his finger to Knock Outs nasal ridge. “Keep it in mind, won't you?” He asked as he finally made his way out of the room, leaving just as abruptly as he had come in. 

“Goddammit.” he swore under his breath as he made his way back to the berth. He needed to figure out how to fix this. 

::Breakdown, Starscream was just here.:: He sent off a comm, hoping Breakdown might know what to do. 

::show u then scratches???:: came breakdowns response ::lol its all:: ::over his hip:: 

The little sneak did have Breakdown check him over he just wanted to come and bother him while he knew he was sick. :: That's not what I'm texting you for though; he thinks I'm hungover and I puked. But I'm not gonna stop puking Am I?::

Breakdowns response of ::lol:: made knock out so immediately enraged he wanted to smash the damn communicator. 

::Don't you lol me!:: ::I'm going to be sick for several weeks! There's no way I can play that off as a hangover.::

Breakdowns response took a second to come back to him, ::maybe 2 months.:: ::Maybe less:: ::u can have flu??? Virus?::

That's true, he could just say he was sick for real, but by that time he'd have somewhat of a visible tummy. He bit his finger and thought about it. He could just keep the bathroom door at the medbay propped open and load himself up on anti nausea medication. ::I'll think about it.:: he sent back.


	3. Chapter 3

Anti-nausea medication was a life saver. Knock out's stomach still had it moments, but for the most part it seemed like things were starting to lighten up. Three weeks had passed since they had the diagnosis and significant changes were starting to happen. 

His stomach was definitely to the point he could tell it had eggs in it, though whether other mechs could notice he wasn't sure. It wouldn't be long before it would be impossible to hide. The layer of rubber and silicone underneath his mesh had gotten thicker, making him feel soft and almost bloated at times. If he pressed on his stomach he could actually feel the hard exterior of his inner tanks starting to press outwards. It would have been far more fascinating if he wasn't the one going through it.

The changes were slight; his thighs a little thicker, chest a little broader, stomach a little more round. He loathed to think anyone would mistake him for just getting fat. If a rumor must circulate he'd rather them just guess the sparklings than think he'd let himself go even for a second. Breakdown told him that was a terrible thing to think, and even if he was fat he was still hot as hell. Knock out did not appreciate the sentiment. 

Breakdown had been taking the risk of spending the night more and more. If any of the neighboring vehicons had noticed his presence more than usual they certainly didn't say anything. He spent their shared recharge practically wrapped around knock out, keeping him in an iron guard of too warm snuggles. 

Knock out appreciated it immensely. He'd heard of carriers having a ravenous sexual appetite, and while his libido hadn’t gone down it certainly wasn't elevated to the crazy stories he'd heard about. 

What he wanted instead was a constant physical reassurance. If it wasn't Breakdown clinging to him like a cyberkoala he'd find himself leaning on his patients, or standing a little too close to the guards outside his medbay. Not that he was doing it on purpose, and every time he noticed it he'd correct himself. But he still wanted to be touched and held. 

Today was the day he was worried about though. Today, Megatron was getting a tune up and possible chest plate refitting. He had to be sharp and alert, pretend that everything was normal and nothing out of the ordinary was happening. 

Megatron wasn't the most observant mech when it came to body structure, so he wasn't too nervous about being found out that way. Knock Out was more worried he'd either lean on him or get heartburn or something. Anything could happen and with his luck he was too nervous to discount even the ridiculous possibilities. 

-o-0-o-

The medbay was prepped and ready for the exam. Knock Out had gone over in his head several times what needed to happen, and the fastest way to get it done. 

He heard the mech arrive before he saw him. Large footsteps outside the medbay stopping only for a second for the automatic door to slide open, letting him inside. Knock Out was able to diagnose the problem be before he even exist need him. It was clearly just a dent in the bottom of the plate that would have to come out. 

“Lord Megatron, a pleasure to see you. I'm guessing this is about that impact wound you've got, sir?” He asked as he pulled the foot of the berth out to be the right size for the giant mech. 

“Yes, just make it quick.” Came the deep snarl. Thankfully they both wanted this over with as fast as possible. Megatron seated himself against the slab and laid back, propping his legs on the foot rest. 

Knock Out wasted no time in getting to the point. “How old is the wound?” He asked as he started to touch the dent. It looked like the area behind it had some damage as well, maybe even a fracture to the plate housing. 

Megatron watched him work with a glare. “No more than three days, the last skirmish with Prime.” 

“Tsk, you should have come sooner then” Knock Out took his luck to tease. He stuck his fingers beneath the chest plate to dehook the latches and lift it up. Megatron undid the other side for him. 

“It interferes with my altmode. You know I'm not bothered by a mere dent.” He growled. 

“No…” Knock Out set the chest piece aside for the time being to look at the lower housing. “But this isn't a mere dent…” he carefully moved and prodded the structure to see if it would slide as it was meant to. 

It got caught halfway, stuck on it's little track. He was able to pull it off with a bit of force, examining the sliding portion. “This whole bottom part is going to need refabrication.” He turned it so Megatron could see what he was talking about. While the top that had taken the impact was mostly fine, the bottom that was shoved into megatron's protoflesh was split open. 

Knock Out hummed softly, thinking about the best way to go about this. “I can reattach your chest plate from your shoulders for the time being, but if you do go Into alt it'll probably fall off if you pick up any kind of speed.” 

Megatron was clearly not happy about that. “And just how long till you can refabricate it, Doctor?” The last part was practically spat. 

Knock Out got to work putting the chest plate back, “Well, I can reuse the top, so...maybe in a day? It shouldn't be that complicated, depending on how many other patients I have to see.” 

He leaned over megatron's chest, arms stretched to lift the shoulder pauldron and get the plate into place. Megatron was oddly silent, watching him the whole time. “I uh, I don't have any other scheduled appointments though,” Knock Out withdrew himself quickly. “It just depends on if someone comes in.”

Megatron stared him down as if he was looking for something, “see to it that you finish in time, then. You have till tomorrow morning.” 

Knock Out nodded quickly. “Yes, Lord Megatron. If anything comes up I'll have Breakdown take care of it.” 

That seemed to give the warlord pause. “Breakdown?” 

“Yes he's my partner after all.” Knock out replied nervously. 

That stare was back, as if Megatron was trying to piece something together. “Your partner or your nurse?” 

Knock Out shivered, “I don't know if there's much of a difference, my liege. He assists me with whatever I need as a doctor, be it medical or otherwise.” 

“As a doctor.” Megatron simply stated the words back to him.

“And personal. Sometimes.”

Megatron finally broke his stare, heading out of the room without reply. Whatever that was about Knock Out had no clue. He knew it wasn't against any rules for them to be together, but maybe this was the first time Megatron really thought of it like that?

Or...maybe he knew about the pregnancy? He did lean on him while putting the chest plate back. It was possible he could have felt something amiss. 

Knock Out shook his head, that was ridiculous. He hadn't done anything wrong. That was just Megatron being Megatron. The paranoia kept creeping back though.

-o-0-o-

He got to work on the piece right away, making sure it took precedence over everything else. If he was good and did everything he was asked to do, Megatron would keep him out of the field. Right now that was top priority. 

There were no mining excursions at the moment so he was fairly sure he'd be done by the evening. No interruptions means faster work.

Breakdown popped in for a second to hear how it had gone after getting the comm he might be needed in the medbay. “What happened?” He asked as he slipped behind Knock Out. 

“Nothing too out of the ordinary.” He leaned into Breakdown, those big strong arms wrapping around him felt wonderful. “He asked some questions about you though.” 

“About me?”

“I think he finally realized we're ~together~ you know? It...may have caught him off guard and I think it made him angry. But he didn't take it out on me so I'm not too concerned.” Knock out sighed and finally turned around to bury his face in Breakdowns chest. 

Breakdown thought about that for a while as he stroked Knock Out's back. “Do you think he knows you're eggy?” 

“I...don't know…” Knock Out confessed. “I had to lean over him for some stuff but I can't imagine he felt anything.” He sighed and withdrew from the hug to keep working. “I just need to focus on getting this done and reattached so he'll leave me alone till next time.” 

“You want me to stick around in case someone comes In?” Breakdown asked. 

“Yes, please. If you would.” 

-o-0-o-

The reattachment went fine. Megatron spoke all of five words to him during the whole procedure and left without giving Knock Out a cause to worry. Knock Out felt himself practically deflate when he was gone. 

One worry down a billion more to go. He leaned back on the table, resting on his elbows. The telltale sound of clicking heels came down the hallway and before he knew it Starscream had his head poked in the door. 

“Mind telling an old friend what's ailing dear Megatron?” Starscream asked as he slinked through the door and positioned himself across from the doctor. 

“You know I'm not going to tell you.” Knock Out shook his head. 

“so be it.” Starscream pouted. “You really make me miss Hook sometimes though.”

“That butcher?” Knock out laughed. “I'm sure he didn't give a damn about anyone's privacy. I'm a real doctor, Starscream. I won't tell you what's wrong with Megatron just as I won't tell him what's wrong with you.”

Starscream rolled his optics, as if that wasn't the thousandth time they'd had this conversation. He'd never stop asking though. “Is it continual or done? Just tell me that?” 

“It's done, I fixed it.” Knock Out leaned back against the shelf to try and take some pressure off his lower back. 

Starscream stared at him much the same way that Megatron had except Starscream didn't have the tact to not say anything, “are you...okay?” 

Knock Out looked up to see the jet looking him over, eyes wandering across his frame to try and piece together something. “I'm fine? Where's this coming from?” 

Starscream opened his mouth as if he was going to say something and then shut it, something like concern drifting through his field. He then leaned in close, eyes darting around to examine every inch of Knock Out. “He's not hitting you is he?”

Knock Out was so taken aback by the question he just stammered for a second. “Who? What? No?” 

“No? Are you sure?” Starscream seemed oddly serious. “Because you're all-” he wiggled his fingers “-swollen” 

“No one is hitting me what are you talking about?” He stood up straight to look Starscream in the eye. 

The jet furrowed his eyebrows and leaned back away from him. “I'm not stupid, I know that brute has been going to your room at night. All you talk about is how tired and sore you are and look at you! You're swelling! I know what's going on, you don't have to go through this alone you know.” 

Knock out was weirdly touched that Starscream would actually care about something like that. “Thats- that's not at all what's happening.” He shook his head. “Star, I appreciate the concern but you are very incorrect about the nature of our relationship.”

“Am I though?” He asked, squinting as if trying to catch Knock Out in a lie. 

“Yes! I'm fine! If anything I'm technically healthier than I've been in ages!” Knock Out was starting to get exasperated. “Look, you clearly don't know what you're talking about. Just forget it.”

Starscream straightened his back, “do you need me to kill him?”

“No!”

“I can make sure he never touches you again.”

“NO!” Knock Out yelled. “Don't touch him! None of that is happening im- i-” he started to stammer, “I'm carrying! He's the sire! Please don't kill him!”

The look of surprise on Starscream's face would have been priceless if Knock Out wasn't so freaked out. “Does your conjunx know?” Starscream asked, actually taking the situation seriously. 

“Does- yes? Of course he knows.” 

“And what about Breakdown, does your conjunx know about him?”

The relief of telling someone come in a huge wave and Knock Out actually laughed. “You- you have made some wild assumptions.”

Starscreams wings flicked in offense. “I am trying to help you! You're running around getting pregnant behind your conjunx's back? And you're laughing?”

“Breakdown is my conjunx, Star.” 

Starscream stared at him open mouthed. “Breakdown?”

“Yes “

“But he's…”

“He's what?”

Starscream just kind tapped his helmet and shrugged. 

“If you call him stupid the next time you're on my operating table I'll flip your wings upside down. You don't even know him.” 

“Clearly I don't know you either.” Starscream replied more in shock Knock Out was married to Breakdown than the fact he was pregnant.

“How did you even know I was conjunxed? You flirt with me!” 

“Because you flirt back. It's fun. Whatever. And you told me! You got drunk like a year ago and started talking about how handsome and strong your conjunx was and when I asked who you were talking about you got all huffy. I assumed you made it up for a bit but given you never really hooked up with anyone I guessed it must be true. Breakdown though? He's never even had wings.”

Knock out rolled his eyes. “Not everyone is into wings, Star. He's nice. You'd know that if you ever talked to him.”

Starscream seemed just blown away by everything he'd learned. “How many are there?” He finally asked.

“There's four eggs. I...I dunno how many are viable.” Knock out finally started to calm down. “I'll be able to keep them, right?” 

Starscream shrugged. “I don't see why not. This hasn't happened before in the high command. It's not like you're used for combat much anyway.” His eyes drifted down to Knock Outs middle. “uh... congrats. I guess.”

“Thanks. It's a relief to tell someone but I know you're going to use this against me.” Knock out leaned back against the table again to try and rest his lower back. 

Starscream just snorted. “You think so little of me.”

“No, I just know you. There's going to be blackmail at some point.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was gonna be 5 chapters but I've decided to make it 6. Maybe more but I might do an epilogue instead.

He was to the point now where he felt it was obvious he was carrying. His plating was distended in the middle with a very visible growth. Yet, oddly, no one had actually talked to him about it besides starscream, who talked to him about it constantly. 

Clearly they knew, or at least Megatron did. He hadn't been sent out on a mission in weeks and was left to the medbay. That's all he really wanted in the first place, being sent on missions felt derogatory to all the work he'd done to be a doctor. 

He was glad for the silence but he'd be lying to himself if he said it wasn't unnerving. Clearly, it was being gossiped about and everyone, on some level, knew. The only one he gave any details to was Starscream, and that bird liked having leverage so much Knock Out wasn't sure Starscream would ever tell anyone unless he got something out of it. 

In many ways he was more worried about what would happen after the pregnancy. If none were viable would Megatron just start sending him back on missions? Or worse, if they did have a sparkling? 

Breakdown wasn't getting any of this favorited treatment. He still had to go to mines and weird object hunts. Though, no one but Starscream knew the truth about their relationship. Knock Out worried for him. Now more than ever he needed Breakdown to be there for him. And if they had a sparkling he'd need him and more. 

They weren't trying to keep the fact Breakdown was sleeping over a secret any more. Almost all his stuff had been moved into Knock Out's larger quarters. If anyone noticed, like with everything else, they certainly didn't say anything. 

\--

He was talking to Starscream, not paying a lick of attention to what the jet was saying. Whatever it was he'd heard it before and was more preoccupied with himself.

"Are you even listening to me?" The jet finally asked as he snapped his fingers in front of Knock Out's face. "Hello?" 

Knock Out simply blinked back in response. "No, not really."

Starscream actually looked a little hurt by the confession, but he scoffed anyway. His plating ruffled and he crossed his arms in a huffy little pout Knock Out would almost deem cute if it wasn't Starscream doing it. "I am your commanding officer! You should be listening to me!"

"Starscream…" Knock Out rolled his eyes. "Complaining about whatever thing you stuck in your valve recently does not constitute official orders. You're in my medbay, I don't need to hear it." 

Starscream snorted at that. "Well you should. I listen to you complain about those little parasites." He wiggled his fingers at Knock Out's stomach. "I just want to know if you think I should get more biolights on the rim that's all." 

"I- thats- I've already given you two rings what more could you possibly want?" Knock out was actually amazed that's what Starscream had been talking about. He greatly preferred to do this kind of plastic surgery over the battle wound stuff but even he through that was an excess. 

"I don't, I just wanted to see if you actually were listening and you weren't." Starscream pouted. 

Knock Out was actually relieved but shook his head anyway. "I'm a little distracted at the moment, Star. I'm not ignoring you on purpose. My back hurts, my tires don't fit in their casings, and I don't even know if they're going to be viable. Maybe I'm just suffering for nothing! I know the vehicons are making fun of me, let alone what the rest of high command thinks! No one but you will talk to me about this like they're afraid or something. If anyone should be scared it's me!"

Starscream looked at him with pity, clearly annoyed he couldn't talk about what he wanted to despite the fact Knock Out was really going through some shit. "Well, they're not making fun of you." He finally replied. 

"They're not calling me fat?" Knock Out asked, eager to know what Starscream knew. 

"I mean, you've never really looked fat. Swollen for a few weeks, sure. You don't look fat even now with your stomach all...eugh," he wiggled his fingers again. "You just look pregnant. No one is going to look at you like this and think 'wow Knock Out sure packed on the pounds huh?' it's fairly obvious you've been fraternizing and now you've reaped the consequences."

Knock Out stood there taking all of this in. "So...what are they saying then?"

Starscream shrugged and leaned back against an exam table. "Pretty much the truth. You're not hiding that you and Breakdown moved in, so it's obviously his. There was maybe only a week of speculation but that got cleared up quick."

"And...what of Lord Megatron?" Knock Out asked. 

Starscream seemed to be growing tired of not talking about himself for three minutes and rolled his eyes. "He's fine with it! Clearly! You've been holed up in this medbay and Breakdowns been sent to the safest mines we have! If he had an issue you'd know about it, trust me."

"What if we have a sparkling though?"

"Then you'll have a sparkling!" Starscream threw his hands in the air with frustration. "If you're so concerned just talk to him!"

"Oh that's rich coming from you." 

Starscream stepped away from the berth with a clear intention to leave. "I'll have you know the one thing about this that's pissing everyone off is that you won't tell anyone what's going on. You're not hiding anything, you're not being sneaky, you're just stringing everyone along when most of us want the best for you right now."

Knock out reached out to grab Starscream's hand. "What?" 

Starscream jerked his arm back but failed to get rid of Knock Out so he resigned himself to holding hands for a moment. "No one has seen sparklings since the fall of Cybertron. You don't think everyone's not excited about this?"

"I...I just assumed they didn't like them…" Knock Out dropped Starscream's hand and watched his plating ruffle. 

"I think the only person who isn't excited is me. And even then I'm kinda looking forward to it, if nothing else than you'll stop being mopey. Soundwave used to have two sparklings of his own. Megatron's favorite arena battle was those ones where they'd being in sparklings from the slums and he and a couple other gladiators would fake beat each other up for them. Dreadwing...well I don't know about Dreadwing but he's certainly not said anything bad."

Knock Out felt exhausted. All this work he'd gone to felt like it was for nothing. "I don't even know if I'm having one yet." He finally responded.

Starscream looked at his stomach then back up to him. "You said there's four eggs? Why don't you just check the spark pulse monitor?"

Knock Out was not ready for that and he shook his head wildly. "I don't want to know! I mean! Augh! I do. I do want to know but also...what if I don't have any? All this is for nothing! And if I do have one then Oh My God I'm having a sparkling. And if it's more than that?" He felt the panic start to rise in his voice "if it's more than that what am I gonna do? These rooms are only so big! I can't keep them supervised like that and-" 

Starscream slapped a hand over Knock Out's intake. "Shut up." He pushed the doctor to the corner where the spark pulse monitor waited. "Check yourself right now. That's an order from your commanding officer. You're being ridiculous."

Knock Out stared at the machine like it was a viper waiting to strike him. He hesitantly took the two clamps off and looked to starscream. "turn around I'm not gonna do it with you watching." 

The jet rolled his eyes but did as he was asked, tempted to peek when he heard the sound of Knock Outs chest plates sliding to the side and the shadows of an additional light source bounced around the medbay. 

Just as they appeared they went away, knock out slowly putting the machine back together with shaky hands. 

"Well?" Starscream asked. 

"I'm having a baby."


End file.
